


Mistakes

by Northjet



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-02-12 01:27:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12948357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northjet/pseuds/Northjet
Summary: Waverly and Nicole have broken up and Nicole is dating Shae again.This is going to be angsty but it will eventually be Wayhaught as the story is about them finding their way back to each other.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd so mistakes are all mine.
> 
> Had this idea kicking around in my head so decided to give it a go.
> 
> Hope you like it.

In the end they had broken up. Secrets kept from each other had left both of them guarded and wary when dealing with each other.

Oddly enough, it had been Waverly who ended it. Nicole had provided a slight argument against the breakup but Waverly had made it clear it was what she wanted.  Nicole had opened her mouth to say something else but she closed it and accepted Waverly’s decision.

Waverly had wanted Nicole to fight harder for them but when she hadn’t she felt that she had made the right decision. After all, why would she want to be with someone who didn’t want to be with her?

While they got to a point where they could work together, they weren’t truly friends.

Oddly enough in the wake of the split, Wynonna and Nicole became closer. Waverly knew she would always come first, but Wynonna had also become fiercely protective of Nicole and vice versa.

It was coming on a year that they had been broken up and while Waverly had gone out on a few dates, nothing had really come of them. She knew Nicole had been dating too but there didn’t appear to be anything serious or so she thought.  Apparently she was wrong.

“What did you just say?” She asked Wynonna.

“I said I’m going out to dinner with Nicole and her new girlfriend or really old girlfriend…wife…ex-wife…whatever. The upshot is you only have to worry about dinner for yourself today.”

“Wait. Nicole is with Shae again?”  Waverly felt a pang that she really didn’t want to analyze.

“Apparently. They’d been talking for a little while and then a couple of months ago Shae said she wanted to try again and Nicole agreed.  It seems to be going well for them since they appear to not be skipping steps this time.”

“Oh.” The pang had turned into a dull ache.

“Nicole wanted to wait until she knew for sure that this was something that might last before she decided to introduce her officially.”

Waverly’s heart stuttered at that thought that it might be something that would last. She now realized something she hadn’t been able to admit to herself before.

She had believed her and Nicole would eventually find their way back to each other.

She looked up to see Wynonna staring at her quizzically. She realized Wynonna was waiting for a response from her about a question she had asked.

“What?”

“Are you okay? Do you want me to cancel dinner?  I can stay with you tonight if you’d like.”  Wynonna replied.

“No. Don’t be silly.  Go meet Nicole and Shae.  I have some research I have to work on.”

“Okay, see you later.” Wynonna left her sister to her work.

Waverly inhaled deeply. She had believed she was over Nicole.  She was wrong.

\-----

Nicole rushed around her place quickly getting dressed.

She had to pick up Shae before they headed over to Shorty’s to meet with Wynonna.

She wanted something informal where they could all just relax and Wynonna and Shae could get to know each other without it seeming like some sort of interrogation. She knew that Wynonna would have many questions and she wanted Shae as comfortable as possible.

She had already warned Wynonna that she was to be on her best behaviour and Wynonna had given a noncommittal shrug in response.

Nicole wasn’t sure how Wynonna and she had found such a deep friendship after her split from Waverly, but she was grateful for it. She knew Wynonna hoped she and Waverly would get back together but she didn’t pressure her about it.

There was still a pain in her heart even when she had a fleeting thought about Waverly. They had both messed up what they had and the breakup had hurt but Nicole had believed it was necessary at the time.

She had thought it was only going to be temporary. No such luck.

Waverly barely spared her a glance after the split.

It had hurt, but Nicole realized she couldn’t keep pining over someone who didn’t want her anymore. She worked through the pain and found a point where it didn’t hurt to be in the same room as Waverly any longer.

She started dating about six months after the breakup but it was usually one offs because they just weren’t what she was looking for.

Wynonna finally sat her down and told her to stop looking for Waverly in everybody she went out with. Nicole had started to argue until she realized Wynonna was right.

Once she realized what she had been doing, she actively started looking beyond characteristics Waverly had and actually focussing on the women she went out still nothing had really clicked.

After the breakup, Nicole and Shae had started talking more and renewing their friendship. It was nice to have someone else to talk to.  Then two months ago Shae mentioned she wanted to try again but this time do it right.  Nicole realized she wanted to try again too so she said yes and now here they were about to have dinner with Nicole’s best friend for the first time.

Shae had recently moved to Purgatory to give them a real shot and Nicole appreciated it.

Nicole quickly shook her head. She was thinking too much and she needed to get to Shae’s right away or they’d be late.

She looked in the mirror and gave herself the once over before grabbing her purse and heading out the door.

\-----

It was late when Wynonna had reached home.

Waverly was still awake or to be honest she had stayed up because she wanted to hear about the meeting.

“Hey, you’re still up!” Wynonna looked surprised.

“Yeah, the research took a little longer than I thought it would. How was dinner?”  Waverly tried to ask casually.

“Oh, really good. Nicole has got a good one there.  Smart, friendly, and pretty.”  Wynonna answered.

“That’s great…really great.” Waverly mumbled.

Wynonna appraised her for a moment and then shook her head.

“What was that for?” Waverly asked in confusion.

“Nothing. I’m tired.  I’m going to sleep.”

Waverly watched Wynonna head to her bedroom. She thought she heard a mumbled, “Both of them are idiots” from Wynonna but she couldn’t be sure.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. The holiday season has been a busy one.
> 
> I will try to keep it to weekly updates from now on.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter and just a reminder this is not beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Nicole entered the diner, planning to quickly grab a coffee before going back to her patrolling.

She heard a customer enter behind her and felt them standing behind her waiting for their turn to order.

She placed her order and started looking around the diner as she was waiting for the coffee.

She turned to look behind her and came face to face with Waverly.

“Oh Waves…Waverly, hi.”  Nicole said softly.

“Hi.  I was going to say something but I didn’t want to disturb you.”  Waverly stated.

Nicole palpably felt the awkwardness, but she also felt the pain that seemed to live between them since they broke up.  When they were at work it was easier to ignore because there was something else to focus on but outside of work was another story.

“You’re not disturbing me.  Just dropped in quickly for a coffee and then I’m going to head back to work.”  Nicole heard her name called.  She grabbed the coffee and moved towards the door quickly looking over her shoulder to say bye to Waverly.

“Have a good day Wav…”

“Nicole wait!”  Waverly called out.

Nicole stopped and turned to fully look at Waverly.

Waverly approached her seeming to be wrestling with whether to say what she as planning on saying.

“Waverly?”  Nicole encouraged.

“Um…uh…I heard your back together with Shae.  Congratulations.”  Waverly said gently.

Nicole’s eyes widened.  She was not expecting that.

“Oh.  Yeah, we’re back together.  Thanks Waverly.  I gotta go.”  Nicole quickly left the diner.

She sat in her cruiser and placed her coffee in the cup holder.  She looked through the window and could see Waverly still staring at her almost regretfully.  When Waverly noticed her looking back, she averted her eyes and then slowly made her way to the counter.

Nicole knew she had handled that poorly but that was one of the first non-work related things Waverly had said to her in a long time.

Nicole shook her head at her own behaviour.  She wished she knew how to talk to Waverly now that they were apart but it was so difficult to know what to say and what not to say.

She sat in the parking lot for a couple of minutes before finally starting the car and driving away.

\-----

Waverly quickly grabbed her order and tried not to ponder Nicole’s speedy exit.   She was trying but failing.

She knew she was partially responsible for the awkwardness that existed between them.  She hadn’t actively sought out Nicole since their split and the first time she spoke to her about something other than work was to congratulate her on dating someone else.

It was a nice day so she walked to the station from the diner.  She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice anyone in front of her until she nearly bowled them over.

“Ooof.”  The person grunted as they tumbled to the ground.

“Oh my gosh.  I’m so sorry.  Let me help…”  Waverly stopped when she realized who it was she had knocked over.   Shae Pressman…perfect.

“Waverly?  I’m sorry I didn’t see where I was going either.”  Shae apologized as Waverly gave her a hand up.

Once they had both managed to straighten themselves out, they regarded each other uncertainly.

“How have you been?”  Shae finally broke the silence.

“Okay…how about you?”  Waverly cringed internally.  Did she really want to know how her ex’s current girlfriend was doing?

“I’m really good.  I wasn’t sure how I’d like small town life but it seems to be working for me so far.”  Shae responded with a smile.

“Oh…you moved here?”  The ache had reappeared in Waverly’s chest.

“Yeah.  I really want things to work with Nic…”  Shae stopped herself when she realized who she as talking to.

“Purgatory is lucky to have you.  I have to head back to work.”  Waverly said and she rushed off leaving Shae to start at her departing back.

\-----

Nicole had decided to park her cruiser and do a walking patrol a couple of hours after her stop at the diner.

She was walking by a park when she noticed someone familiar sitting on a bench.  She was about to continue walking until she realized it was Waverly and she looked upset.

She sat down quietly beside Waverly.

“Waves…what happened?”  Nicole asked softly.

Waverly looked up with a start.

“Nothing’s wrong.  Just hit a dead end with some research and needed to clear my head.”  Waverly responded.

“Ah.  I’d help you if I could but your research is a little over my head.”  Nicole replied with a small smile.

“Thanks for stopping by Nicole but as you can see, I’m fine.”  Waverly said abruptly.

Nicole frowned.  She was being dismissed and she didn’t care for it.

“Sorry.”  Nicole mumbled as she stood up.

She took a couple of steps away when she heard Waverly say something.

“What?”  She inquired.

“Why didn’t you fight for us?”  Waverly said a little louder.

“Why didn’t I…” Nicole scoffed, shaking her head and turning to leave again.

“Yeah, keep running away.”  Waverly said with some heat.

Nicole knew she should let it go, but she was fuming.  She stomped back over to Waverly.

“When did you want me to fight for us?  When I begged you to talk to me after I took the DNA results?  When you sent me a text calling me a control freak and basically telling me to leave you alone?  When you kissed someone else?  When you broke up with me?  When Waverly?”

“Are you blaming everything on me?”  Waverly ground out.

“No.  I know I made mistakes, but I wasn’t the only one.  You want to know why we aren’t together now?  Look at us.  We can’t even have a civil conversation unless it’s about work.  Why did you approach me?  Is it because you found out about Shae?”

Waverly looked away guiltily.

“Right.  Maybe we should just keep it to work related conversations.”  Nicole snarked.

She glared at Waverly before walking away.

As she left Waverly in the park, Nicole couldn’t help thinking about how far apart they had fallen.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole is sweet to Waverly and comes to a realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update is a little later than I had planned.
> 
> Real life has interfered a little with my ability to write regularly, but hopefully that will settle down now.
> 
> Hope you enjoy the chapter and as always, this is not beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Waverly had spent the better part of the days following her confrontation with Nicole trying her best to avoid talking to her.

That was easier said than done considering her current predicament.  She was stuck in a car with only one other occupant: Nicole Haught.

Nicole seemed content with the silence as they continued surveilling a building that appeared to be a hotbed for revenant activity.  Waverly would have preferred to be in the other vehicle on the opposite side of the building.  Dolls had decided the pairings and of course he had picked Wynonna as his stakeout partner.

Intellectually Waverly knew that the split was both of their faults…but it was easier to blame the other person rather than analyzing your own behaviour.

Waverly decided to break the silence.

“Nicole…I’m sorry about the other day.  It wasn’t fair to blame you for everything.”

Nicole glanced over at Waverly before returning her gaze to the building.

“It’s okay Waverly.”  Nicole said gently.

“No, it’s not.  I…what was that?”  Waverly was distracted by a flash of movement near the building.

“What was what?”  Nicole asked bewildered.

“There was movement over there.  I’m going to take a closer look.”  Waverly stated resolutely.

“Waverly…no.  I’ll call Wynonna and let her know…dammit…Waverly!”

Waverly had paid no heed to Nicole’s warning as she slipped out of the car.  A few seconds later she was not surprised when she heard the other car door open.

“Waverly!”  She heard Nicole whisper urgently as she inched closer to the building.

Nicole had quickly caught up and had gently grabbed her elbow.  Waverly turned around.

“Are you crazy?  There is a reason we have backup and this is supposed to be a watch from a distance stakeout.  Let’s go back to the car.”  Nicole insisted.

“Fine…I can’t see anyth…”  Waverly’s voice faded out as she noticed something make a running jump towards her out of the corner of her eye.

\-----

“Of all the stupid…!”  Dolls roared.

Nicole flinched as he glowered at Waverly.

“Oh calm down.  No harm, no foul.”  Wynonna supplied helpfully.

“She got out of the car without, waiting for backup might I add, because, quote, I saw something or someone, unquote.  She nearly ruined our investigation all because of that stupid fur ball in her lap.”  Dolls was clearly not placated by Wynonna.

His glare returned to Waverly who continued to ignore him while she played with the kitten on her lap.

“Dolls…let it go.  We’re all fine and Waverly won’t do that again.  Right Waverly?”  Nicole asked with a little heat.

At this Waverly looked at Nicole, her eyebrows raised.  Nicole could tell Waverly heard the edge in her voice.

“Right.”  Waverly whispered.

“Fine…you only get one Earp.  Another stunt like that and we find a new researcher, am I understood?”  Dolls questioned sternly.

Waverly nodded, still looking at Nicole.

Dolls sighed deeply and exited the room.

“You got lucky today kid.  I’m going to hold you to that promise, because you’re the best at what you do and we can’t do this without you.”  Wynonna said as she stood up.  She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Waverly’s forehead.  She followed Dolls out the door.

Nicole realized that it was just her, Waverly, and that troublemaking cat left in the room.  She looked around and then moved to stand up when she felt a warmth envelope her hand.  She looked down and saw Waverly’s hand covering her own.

“Nicole…are you mad at me?”  Waverly asked uncertainly.

Nicole leaned back in her chair and exhaled heavily.

“Waves…what you did was so dangerous.  You or I could have gotten hurt.  We’re lucky it turned out to be a cat but what if it hadn’t been?”

“I’m sorry Nicole.”  Waverly apologized.

Nicole nodded signalling she accepted the apology.

“I know why you did it.  You want to prove to us that you can handle yourself…Waves, you have nothing to prove.  I sat in that car knowing you had my back and I felt safe…until you opened that door.  The thing is Waverly, when you do stuff like that you are trying to prove to yourself what the rest of us know.  You are one of the strongest people I know and when the chips are down you have our backs and we’re better for it.”  Nicole admitted genuinely.

Nicole noticed tears shining in Waverly’s eyes.

“Thank you Nicole.”

Waverly squeezed Nicole’s hand gently before letting go.

Nicole and Waverly both stood up at the same time.  Nicole took a step towards the door when she felt Waverly pull her back.

All the sudden her arms were full of Waverly and the cat as Waverly hugged her fiercely while holding the little fur ball.

Nicole hugged her back and then moved to step away but she made the mistake of looking up.  She and Waverly got caught in each other’s eyes.  Nicole couldn’t pull away and apparently Waverly couldn’t either.  Just then the cat meowed and they quickly jumped away from each other.

“Um, I have to go.  See ya Waves.”  Nicole rushed out of the room leaving Waverly staring after her.

\-----

When Nicole reached home she thought about calling Shae and asking her if she’d like to come over.

She didn’t call though.  She knew why she hadn’t.  Guilt.  The guilt borne out of the moment she had shared with Waverly and what that moment meant.

Waverly Earp still owned a piece of her heart.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole's guilt and fear leads her to an unfortunate moment with Waverly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive. I apologize for taking my time with updates.
> 
> I'm hoping to have both stories done before season three starts.
> 
> Just a reminder this story is not beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Denial was a powerful thing and Nicole was fully embracing it, not that she realized it.

She had decided the moment with Waverly meant nothing.  It was just an echo of feelings past.

She was with Shae and she was going to give the relationship the attention it deserved.

To that end, she was planning a special night for her special lady.

She had finished preparing dinner, the table was set, and now she was just waiting for Shae’s arrival.

Her phone pinged indicating the arrival of a text message.

She read it and sighed.  Shae couldn’t make it.  She had a severely injured patient she had to deal with.

Nicole blew out the candle in the centre of the table.

She wasn’t mad at Shae.  They both had jobs that could result in overtime or being called in on your days off.  It’s one of the reasons they worked.  They understood each other’s hours.

Nicole walked into the kitchen and looked at the meal she had prepared.  All the sudden it wasn’t so appealing.  She was hungry but for something else.

She decided to go to Shorty’s and grab a drink and some food there.

\-----

Waverly had decided to pick up a shift at Shorty’s.

She was quickly regretting that.  It was slow.

It was snowing outside and not many people seemed to want to venture outside.

Being that it was slow, it gave her more time to think.  She was thinking about Nicole of course.  At some point during their recent interactions Waverly realized she wanted to try again with Nicole.

There were two problems with that though: Shae and whether or not Nicole wanted to try again.

She knew they had issues to work through; she believed they could work through them if Nicole was willing.

She shook her head to rid herself of her current thoughts and took a quick glance around.  She thought about closing early when she heard the door open.  She looked up and swallowed.

Nicole was standing in front of her shivering and looking a little uncertain.  Clearly she hadn’t realized Waverly would be working.

“Hi.”  Waverly greeted softly.

“Hey.”  Nicole responded as she approached the bar.

“I see you decided to brave the cold.”  Waverly observed.

“Yeah.  I was planning on staying in but plans change.  You know how it is.”

Waverly sensed there was more to the story but didn’t push.

“Sitting at the bar or going with a table today?”  Waverly asked as she wiped the counter in front of her, subconsciously telling Nicole where she would like her to sit.

Waverly watched as Nicole looked around.  She could see that many tables were available but Nicole chose to sit at the bar.  Waverly rewarded Nicole with a huge smile and she watched as Nicole ducked her head while her cheeks turned a little red.

“What are you having today?”

“I’ll have a beer and a burger and fries.”

Waverly busied herself entering Nicole’s order and grabbing her beer.

She placed the beer in front of Nicole and stood there watching her.  She could see Nicole was blushing under her stare.

“What?  Do I have something on my face?”  Nicole went to wipe her face with the napkin, when Waverly grabbed her hand.

“You look beautiful.”

Nicole stilled and stared at Waverly.   She pulled her hand away and mumbled a thank you when a man two seats down cleared his throat, breaking the spell between them.

Waverly turned to look at him expectantly.

“If you’re done your staring contest, can you get me a drink?”  He asked bluntly.

Waverly shuffled over to take his order and left Nicole to her thoughts.

\-----

Nicole’s mind was going a mile a minute.

The guilt was roaring back.  As much as she wanted to believe everything between her and Waverly was platonic and friendly, it wasn’t.  Platonic and friendly didn’t feel the way she felt when she looked at Waverly and when Waverly looked at her.

This wasn’t fair to Shae.  She had to put an end to these moments with Waverly.

She was with Shae.  Shae had moved to Purgatory to be with her.  She was doing what she could to make the relationship work and Nicole owed it to her to do the same.

To be forthright, she felt the issues that had ended her and Waverly still existed.  The feelings may have been lingering but so too were the problems and because of that there was no reason to revisit what had already once fallen apart.

Nicole looked up when she realized Waverly had made her way back to where Nicole was seated.

“Nicole…”

“We can’t keep doing this.”  Nicole blurted out.

“Doing what?”  Waverly asked although Nicole could tell she knew.

“This dancing around each other.  Waverly I’ll always care about you, but Shae is my present and hopefully my future.”

Nicole swallowed when she saw tears shining in Waverly’s eyes.

“Waves…we had our chance and we messed it up.  Please understand.”  Nicole pleaded.

“No.”   Waverly gritted out.

Nicole sat back in shock.

“What?”

“Why should I understand?  We care about each other.  We can figure out a way to work through our problems but we both have to want to do that.  I’ve come to realize I want to.  Am I the only one?”

Fear shot through Nicole.  When she and Waverly broke up she didn’t know whether she would be able to sew her heart back together.  She wasn’t sure she could put it through that again.

“Yes.”  She hadn’t realized she said it out loud until she saw the pain etched all over Waverly’s face.

Nicole threw some money on the counter, grabbed her jacket, and ran out of the bar.

\-----

Waverly had ended up closing the bar shortly after Nicole had left.

She entered the homestead and was about to head to her room when she heard Wynonna call her from the living room.

“Hey you’re done early.”  Wynonna commented when Waverly entered the room.

Waverly nodded.

“Baby girl?  What’s wrong?”  Wynonna had stood up when she saw tears streaming down Waverly’s face.

Waverly flung herself at Wynonna and buried her head in her neck as she sobbed uncontrollably.

“Baby girl?  You’re scaring me.   What happened?”  Wynonna probed desperately needing an answer.

“I’ve lost her.”  Waverly managed to answer between sobs.

Wynonna had no answers or words of comfort.  She just held on to her sister while Waverly cried.


End file.
